Tuesday, August 8, 2017

Spotlight On...Tamed by a Tiger by Felicity Heaton [Excerpt and Giveaway]

A snow leopard shifter in the prime of his life, the last thing on August’s mind is tying himself to one female. He welcomes a different one to his bed each night, or at least he had until five months ago when he became alpha. The duties and pressures of running his pride have his libido dead on arrival—until a trip to London to discuss business with the former alpha lands him in the path of a beautiful, bewitching tigress who awakens a passion in him that flares white hot and a need of her that consumes his every moment.

Promised at birth to a male she has never met, Maya has left her pride behind to go to the tiger alpha who is to be her mate, but she can’t leave without saying goodbye to her older brother, Talon. A stop in London at Underworld to see him one last time turns out far different, and far more dangerous, than how she had imagined it when she sets eyes on an alluring crimson-haired stranger who stirs new, unbidden feelings in her, desires that rouse her fiercest and most frightening instincts and demand she stake a claim on him—her fated mate.

Will Maya be strong enough to place her pride and her family’s safety before the desires of her own heart? And will August unravel his feelings for the black-haired beauty before it’s too late and he loses her forever?

Enter the grand tour-wide giveaway to win a $25, $50 or $75 Amazon Gift Card at the Tamed by a Tiger book page. This giveaway is international and open to everyone, and ends at midnight on August 20th.

Talon’s jaguar friend hurried past, four bottles of something held in his hands, heading towards the right side of the bar. Sherry turned away from the brightly lit bottles of liquor that stood on glass shelves against the mirrored wall, and stilled. A smile instantly burst onto her dark pink lips and lit up her blue eyes.

Was it really only four weeks since Maya had last seen the blonde?

She looked even more beautiful now, radiant, glowing with happiness.

Maya had feared the transition from human into a tiger shifter would have taken its toll on her, but Sherry looked brighter than ever, healthier too. She warmed inside at that, glad Sherry was handling it well, and sure it was Talon’s doing. Talon was probably doting on her like crazy since they had mated and bound themselves together.

“Cavanaugh, take over a moment,” Sherry called over her shoulder, towards the other end of the bar to Maya’s left.

Her eyes leaped there.

Landed on a huge male with short silver hair who stood with his back to Sherry, the lights playing across his broad shoulders changing his white shirt from blue to red as they shifted.

He twisted at the waist to look at Sherry.

Maya didn’t hear what he said.

She didn’t hear the music.

Didn’t hear anything but the thumping of her heart.

She stared at the male Cavanaugh had been talking to at the end of the bar.

A male with flame red tousled hair and piercing silver eyes that captured hers as he lifted them from his beer to her, looking past the bartender.

Heat rushed through her, fire that burst to life inside her so fiercely she couldn’t catch her breath, and she stared at him, transfixed, lost in those silver eyes as they turned liquid, glowed around his irises and pulled her deeper still, narrowing the world down to only him.

Who was he?

In the wake of the fire that blazed through her blood, her instincts flashed to life, sweeping through her in a devastating wave that stripped all control from her.

She snapped and snarled at the females near her, baring her short fangs at them as a need seized her and drove her to obey it.

A need to fight.

She growled at Sherry through gritted teeth, her fangs slicing into her gums as they elongated.

On a low growl, Maya leaped onto the black bar, and swiped at her, claws cutting through the air. Sherry ducked beneath her blow, narrowly evading it. Maya’s hackles rose, the urge flowing stronger, driving her harder. She needed to fight. She needed to make sure every female in the vicinity left.

This was her territory now.

She would make that clear.

She opened her mouth to roar.

Someone’s hand slammed down over it, and she struggled as strong arms hauled her backwards, dragging her off the bar. The male held her harder, wrestled with her and managed to restrain her arms, pinning them to her sides. She bit into his palm and he growled at her, a warning she wanted to heed but couldn’t manage to obey.

She needed to fight.

“Calm her the fuck down or you are both out of here, family or fucking not,” a male voice barked and she snarled at the owner of it—the jaguar. “Get this shit under control.”

“Come with me,” Sherry said and Maya struggled harder, needed to reach the female and fight her.
Needed to make this her territory.

Grey grunted and his grip on her tightened, and she flinched as pain arced like lightning through her bones. A show of strength. He was stronger than her, but she wouldn’t let him stop her. He could break her bones if he wanted. She would fight.

She kicked at him, battering his shins.

He bowed backwards, bringing her legs up and making it impossible for her to reach him.

Maya lashed out at everyone in her way instead.

All it did was help her brother by scattering everyone in his way, giving him an open route to take as he followed Sherry.

As she drew closer to the male with the fiery red hair, the need to fight grew stronger, drove her out of her mind and terrified her, leaving her feeling trapped inside her own body. She clawed at Grey’s arms, cutting through his coat and scoring his flesh, but all he did was hiss through his teeth. His grip on her remained too strong for her to break.

She needed to break it.

She needed to fight.

The scarlet-haired male’s silver eyes tracked her until she was level with him, and then casually he looked back down at his beer and resumed speaking with Cavanaugh.

Cold swept through her in response.

All of the fight flowed out of her and she slumped in Grey’s arms, reeling but unsure why.

Why?

As Grey carried her into a bright white backroom and the door shut behind them, awareness of what she had done slowly crept in, closing in around her.

Grey set her down, and she stared at the ruined sleeve of his black jacket as he tended to the wound beneath, inspecting it. She had done that. She had lost control.

Her amber eyes widened and leaped to Sherry.

Gods. She had tried to hurt Sherry.

“I’m sorry,” she muttered, horrified by what she had done.

“It’s fine… but… I’m not sure what just happened.” Sherry offered her a smile, a small one that spoke of confusion as clearly as her eyes did. “Is it because I’m a tiger too now?”

Maya wouldn’t answer that question.

Grey focused a little too hard on his wound, avoiding it too.

Boots striking metal off to her left had her head whipping that way, the instinct to fight rising again but for a different reason this time. Grey was injured. She needed to protect him.

Talon stopped on the bottom step and stared at her. “What are you doing here?”

The tension that had started to leave her on seeing it was only her brother approaching amped up again, making her muscles tight as she came to face him. His amber eyes were hard, demanding. He raked his fingers over his short black hair and huffed as he stepped down onto the floor, and strode towards her.

She looked over his clothing. Was he working as a bouncer now? He wore the same black t-shirt and jeans, and boots combination as the male she had seen guarding the door. She didn’t like the thought of Talon protecting the entrance of Underworld. It was dangerous.

“I needed to see you before I continued my journey.”

His face darkened. “Journey?”

Damn. Byron hadn’t told him. That bastard.

Grey growled from beside her. “He’s sending her to the Altay pride now.”

“What the fuck?” Talon barked and took a hard step towards her, all the fires of Hell raging in his golden eyes. “Son of a fucking bitch.”

He turned to her, seized her upper arms in both of his hands and hunkered down, so he was eye level with her.

She was listening, but reason didn’t factor into this. Her parents had promised her to the Altay pride male and she had to go through with it, because if she didn’t, her pride would be shamed by her actions and would lose standing in tiger society.

“I need to get back to work.” Sherry managed a single step towards the door that led to the nightclub before Talon had her swept up in his arms, his lips on hers.

Maya looked away.

Ignored that pang of jealousy that made her chest feel too tight.

The moment Sherry was gone, Talon heaved a long sigh. “I’m going to kill Byron.”

“No,” Maya snapped, her gaze whipping up to meet his amber eyes. She shook her head, wanted to say something else, something to defend Byron’s decision, but she couldn’t.

Because it had shaken her.

She loved him, but sometimes she shared Talon and Grey’s view of him, their belief that he saw her as a sort of bargaining chip, a way of establishing a stronger connection with another powerful pride.

A present he could give to their alpha.

She tried not to feel that way, had fought it for years, but now she couldn’t feel any other way.

She could only feel that he didn’t truly care about what was best for her, not as Talon and Grey did.

He only cared about what was best for the pride.

She told herself that it was how things should be, that he was alpha now and had a responsibility, one that extended beyond his family.

His decision to send her to the Altay pride now, when she wasn’t due to go there for another two decades, when she reached her two hundred and fiftieth year, had come as a shock though.

A blow.

Archangel’s attack on the pride had left them wounded, and weakened. Vulnerable.

Byron had told her that he was doing it to keep her safe.

As much as she wanted to believe that, there was part of her that believed he had an ulterior motive. They had lost many people in the battle, and he wanted to strengthen their position in tiger society quickly, so no one would challenge him as alpha. He had already sent out two females to other prides, and had taken two brides in exchange.

She was to be the third.

Her move to the Altay pride would ensure their support for Byron, making it difficult for anyone within her pride or outside it to challenge him without facing fierce opposition.

It was a power play.

One that would also ensure the safety of her pride.

If she could do that for them, then she would go through with it, whether she wanted it or not.
“Does Byron know you’re here?” Talon cut into her thoughts, tugging her back to reality, and she shook her head. He looked to Grey. “Did she pull those kitten eyes on you?”

Grey rolled his right shoulder. “Maybe I just figured it might be a good thing… that we could talk some sense into her.”

That wasn’t going to happen.

She had always wanted to be of use to the pride, had tried to find the place where she fitted in and could be of help. Now she knew what she needed to do, how she could help her pride, and she was going through with it.

“It’s worth a try.” Talon smiled faintly. It grew into a full blown one when he came over to her and pulled her into a hug, and ruffled her hair. “I’m glad you came. Saves me from having to go to Siberia to drag your arse home.”

She stopped trying to swat his hands away and looked up at him. He would do that for her? The look in his amber eyes confirmed that he would, and that it was going to take a lot to convince him to let her go now that she was here.

She didn’t want to fight Talon, or Grey, but she wasn’t going to let them stop her.

She wouldn’t break with tradition.

She didn’t want to be traded like a commodity, forced to be someone’s bride, but she wanted the pride to be strong and Byron to be safe.

“Can I not just enjoy this time with you?” she whispered, and the smile that had been rising onto his lips faded, the light in his eyes dimming as he dropped them from Grey to her.

She hated that look.

She always had.

It hurt her whenever she looked into any of her brothers’ eyes and saw pain in them.

It killed her that she had caused it this time.

She pushed away thoughts about Siberia, and her own pride, and focused on her brothers, and the building around her.

She had been so excited when she had been walking through the city with Grey and when they had entered the nightclub, seeing a world that so closely matched the one she had seen on the tablet that Talon had snuck into her home so she could watch television and movies without Byron knowing.

Now she could see it with her own eyes.

She wanted to enjoy this time with them, in this world of mortals.

Even though it was a little overwhelming.

The scarlet-haired male from the bar shimmered into her mind and heat travelled through her limbs and bloomed in her chest.

He was a little overwhelming.

Just thinking about him had the instinct that had seized her in the bar rising back to the fore to wrest control from her, a deep desire to attack any female in the vicinity and drive them all out.

Felicity Heaton is a New York Times and USA Today international best-selling author writing passionate paranormal romance books. In her books, she creates detailed worlds, twisting plots, mind-blowing action, intense emotion and heart-stopping romances with leading men that vary from dark deadly vampires to sexy shape-shifters and wicked werewolves, to sinful angels and hot demons! If you’re a fan of paranormal romance authors Lara Adrian, J R Ward, Sherrilyn Kenyon, Gena Showalter and Christine Feehan then you will enjoy her books too.

If you love your angels a little dark and wicked, the best-selling Her Angel series is for you. If you like strong, powerful, and dark vampires then try the Vampires Realm series or any of her stand-alone vampire romance books. If you’re looking for vampire romances that are sinful, passionate and erotic then try the best-selling Vampire Erotic Theatre series. Or if you prefer huge detailed worlds filled with hot-blooded alpha males in every species, from elves to demons to dragons to shifters and angels, then take a look at the new Eternal Mates series.

If you want to know more about Felicity, or want to get in touch, you can find her at the following places: